Iran 3

India, the second purchaser of Iranian crude, also increased its imports from Iran last month.

Preliminary tanker arrival data cited by Reuters on Thursday showed that the Asian country increased purchases of Iranian crude by about 30 percent to a record 768,000 barrels per day (bpd) as state refiners' intake surged ahead of US sanctions in November.

India’s July purchases of Iran’s oil were about 85 percent higher in comparison to the shipments of about 415,000 bpd a year earlier, the news agency said.

State refiners accounted for about four-fifth of Iranian crude sales in July with Indian Oil Corp along with its unit Chennai Petroleum Corp getting about 300,000 bpd oil from Tehran, the preliminary data showed.

US officials have softened their stance after initially saying they would press allies in Europe, Asia and the Middle East to adhere to the sanctions and reduce their imports to zero. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said last month his country was open to consider waivers forcertain buyers of Iranian oil.

And yep, just as I have thought, the combined pressure of India, China and the European Union is way too much for the US to cope with! Should aslo SK and Japan.

Iran has made it clear that it will continue selling oil, US embargo be damned! And countries like China and India are not going to comply with US sanctions. SK and Japan want exemptions and the EU is considering using the Euro to pay for Iranian oil so it looks like the EU won't comply either.

This will cause a huge shift away from the US dollar!!! And I believe the US is very worried that it's Iranian embargo will accelerate the shift away from the green back petro dollar! And when the greenback is no longer the petro dollar combined with total US debt=US economic depression/dissaster!

I'm going to predict that Trump is going to buck and fold over Iran and somehow is going to weasel back to the original deal. Maybe Iran will accomodate Trump so the US does not lose face as you have suggested?

I hope you're right about this. Unfortunately, people like Bolton, Pompeo and Netanyahu want war with Iran very badly, and they will do their best to prevent any peaceful resolution. You can bet that they were all furious when Trump publicly offered unconditional talks.

"US President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday, re-imposing, effective today, sweeping US economic sanctions against Iran that had been suspended in January 2016 as part of the Iran nuclear deal. The sanctions, which Washington is demanding all other countries join it in enforcing are both illegal and tantamount to an act of war. Moreover, they are accompanied by increasing US military pressure and threats of war against Tehran..."

"China's state-owned energy giant, China National Petroleum Corp replaced Total of France with an 80.1% stake in the development of the South Pars field. The Chinese energy giant took advantage of Trump's sanctions to step into the void left by the French major. South Pars has the world's biggest natural gas reserves ever found in one place..."

Israel alone does not have the military capacity to conquer Iran. It is estimated that Israel has 80 unconfirmed and undenied nuclear missiles. As Iran is so huge, you could explode all 80 of them on the country and it would still be able to maintain territorial integrity through its much vaster army.

In terms of making it to Israel, the Iranian forces would experience little resistance through the countries in between. On the other hand, Israeli forces would experience a lot of resistance once they left Israel.

Saddam Hussein had a military on the scale of Israel's, if not bigger, and the Iran-Iraq war was just a horrible standoff with thousands of troops being killed and not much territory gained either way. And in turn, this makes a whole older generation of Iranians battle-hardened and ready to lead the younger generations of Iranians into war against Israel.

Israel's only chance would be to have the assistance of a much larger ally, however if that happened, Iran might get the assistance of a much larger ally too.

"The US is plotting to install pro-Western puppet regimes in sovereign and independent states like Iran, according to Stephen Lendman, an American journalist, writer and political analyst based in Chicago. The US State Department has formed an 'Iran Action Group' to coordinate and run an aggressive US policy toward the Islamic Republic on the eve of the 65th anniversary of a previous American action against Iran - the CIA-led 1953 coup against the democratically elected government of Mohammad Mosaddegh. 'I call it the anti-Iran Action Plan for Regime Change', Lendman told Press TV on Friday."

"On 12 August 2018 the five littoral states to the Caspian Sea (Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan) signed an historic agreement governing the use of the Caspian Sea. The negotiatons had been ongoing for more than 20 years. There are several significant elements of the Caspian Sea Convention (CSC) that are worthy of note.

The first aspect is the size of the resources at stake. The Caspian Sea basin is known to hold 50 billion barrels of oil in proven reserves, and nearly 9 million cubic members of natural gas. To put that in perspective, the gas reserves are greater than the entire known US reserves..."

"Hey journalists working on the 'Fire Eye' revelations of an Iranian influence operation. Might be worth noting that Fire Eye CEO Kevin Mandia sits on the board of the Institute for War Studies with some hall of fame war-hawks."

We shall see WWWTT. This analysis disagrees that 'the EU is going to take a serious shot at standing up to US imperialism.' Perhaps like here liberals will instead just pretend they do. Although increasingly it seems even this pretence has gone.

US 'Protectorate' Rebelling? Experts Doubt EU's Ability to Stand Up to Washington

"...Even though many EU politicians have expressed the desire to conduct independent foreign and defence policy, they are not really capable of doing it believes Fyodor Lukyanov, editor-in-chief of Russia In Global Affairs magazine.

'The shining example is the fate of the Iran nuclear deal. Politically, Europe is outraged deeply by the US actions and firmly expresses its commitment to the agreement. In fact, it's nearly all over, since European business is leaving Iran...So all other talk doesn't make much difference,' Lukyanov told RT..."

Once again NDPP you're providing some good links with alternative perspectives that I can not dismiss and will consider for thought.

The EU aid package as far as I understand is and was only that, an aid package. I suspect that the reasoning behind it was that the EU doesn't want to burn their bridges. Keep in mind the geopolitical strategic and economical importance of Iran and it's neighbours with BRICS is something staring in the face of EU! I'm sure the EU is already suffering from the US sanctions on Russia. Does the EU want to continue siding with the US and their sanctions game? I seriously doubt it.

But as stated in your link, it's a bit of a fine line that the EU has to dance around. This aid package may in the end not amount to much, but it has drew harsh criticism from the US. The EU did send a clear message to the US.

I still believe that the EU is trying to prop it's position with BRICS nations and cut some of the US puppet master strings on the EU. Not an easy task!

"Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif underlined the necessity for the Syrian army to intensify efforts to purge Idlib province from the terrorist groups, noting that Syria's territorial integrity should be maintained. 'Syria's territorial integrity should be safeguarded and all tribes and groups, as one society, should start the reconstruction process and the refugees should return to their homes,' Zarif told reporters upon arrival in Damascus on Monday.

Syrian FM Walid Muallem stated on Sunday that the recent US threats to strike Syria would not stop the Damascus government from the Idlib operation. 'Anything that is actively promoted by the US will not affect the determination of the Syrian people and Syrian army's plans to clear Idlib and finally put an end to terrorism in Syria. We the people and leadership of Syria, would like to end the conflict today, but the intervention of Western countries headed by the UN makes it difficult,' Muallem added."

"The US dollar is no longer used by Tehran and Baghdad in bilateral trade, giving way to the euro and local currencies, as well as direct barter of goods, the head of the Iran-Iraq Chamber of Commerce, Yahya Ale-Eshagh has revealed..."

US naval, air and Marine forces have launched a war game from Djibouti, off the Horn of Africa coast opposite the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea – their first drill for a potential regional clash with Iran, whether full-scale or limited. They are focusing on the simulated Iranian blockage of the region’s two vital chokepoints, the Strait of Hormuz in the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea’s Straits of Bab al-Mandeb, DEBKAfile’s military sources report.

Taking part are 4,500 US troops of the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit carried on the decks of EssexAmphibious Ready Group vessels. This group consists of the Essex amphibious assault ship, the Anchorage amphibious transport dock and the Rushmoredock landing ship. They are practicing confrontations with Iranian naval and air forces in the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea, and testing their rapid response capabilities in an emergency, coastal landings by the Marines, fast rescues of US fighter pilots whose planes were shot down, as well as their ability to function in waters sown with sea mines.
Also taking part in the exercise are the Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 211, which is made up of F-35Bs, the seaplane version of the advanced stealth plane. It is capable of vertical takeoff from US aircraft carriers or from the big Marine landing craft.

It is the first time that the US has introduced the F-35 for combat duty in these regions. This US F-35 fleet, together with those flown by the Israeli Air Force, now cover a vast area – from the Strait of Hormuz, through the Gulf of Aden, the Bab al Mandeb Straits, the Red Sea and up to the Syria coast.

"Many ordinary people show up for the military parade...and the attack was indiscriminate,' adding that 'four or five children were among the victims of the incident, which left more than 20 dead and over 50 others injured. Iranian FM Mohammed Javad Zarif, said that Tehran 'holds regional terror sponsors and their US masters accountable."

"You are responsible for these actions; you will face the repercussions," said Salami. "We warn all of those behind the story, we will take revenge."

Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned on Monday that the five attackers were paid by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates - despite the Islamic State claiming responsibility for the violence - and that Iran would "severely punish" those behind the bloodshed, by which he meant the United States and Israel, who were accused by the deputy head of Iran's Revolutionary Guards as being involved in the attack and said they should expect a "devastating" response from Tehran.

"Based on reports, this cowardly act was done by people who the Americans come to help when they are trapped in Syria and Iraq, and are paid by Saudi Arabia and the UAE," Khamenei said on his official website.

"US President Donald Trump took center stage at the UN this week. The Middle East was very much on his mindd, particularly Iran. For some, sitting in the General Assembly Trump's words were simply laughable. However, what is happening in the Middle East and beyond is anything but funny."

"Crude prices will likely reach $100 per barrel for the first time since 2014, and OPEC has no leverage to prevent such a scenario, an analyst has warned. On Monday, Brent crude surged above $83 per barrel as Iran continues losing its crude exports ahead of US sanctions which come into force in November. Saudi Arabia has been unable to offset the lost Iranian crude exports."

"John Bolton and Mike Pompeo headlined the annual United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) summit, where speakers celebrated the strangling of the Iranian economy under US sanctions and cheered on regime change. We report from inside..."

"European governments have so far failed to persuade the Trump administration to guarantee Iranian imports of basic foods and medicine after the imposition of blanket sanctions next week, according to diplomats familiar with the negotiations.

Humanitarian supplies are officially exempted from sanctions but in the past risk averse foreign banks and companies have avoided all transactions with Iran for fear of being penalised, leading to serious shortages of life-saving medicines and food staples in the years preceding the 2015 agreement. 'There's no doubt that the lives of thousands of patients will be at risk,' Ahmad Ghavideh, of Iran's haemophilia society told the Guardian by phone from Tehran.

'Any delay in supply of medicine, particularly in the sector I work in, will have catastrophic consequences,' said the head of the NGO. 'My worry is not for today, but in six months' time when our supply runs out. They claim that the imports of medicines are exempted from sanctions but in practice, because of banking restrictions, we don't have access to medicine or ingredients to make them internally..."

"I promise you,' Pompeo said, 'that doing business with Iran in defiance of our sanctions will ultimately be a much more painful business decision than pulling out of Iran.' Iranian President Rouhani vowed to continue to sell oil, and compared President Trump to former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, against whom his country fought in the 1980s.

'Yesterday, Saddam was in front of us, today Trump is in front of us. There is no difference. We must resist and win. We are in am economic war situation. We are confronting a bullying enemy. We have to stand to win."

"The state-run, English language Iranian network says its journalist and anchor Marzieh Hashemi was detained at St Louis International Airport, Missouri, and sent to Washington DC. She is currently being held in an FBI detention facility. No charges have been filed against her and no reason was given for her detention..."

"Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Mohammed Marandi, an expert on American studies at the University of Tehran, to discuss Trump's comments that he may leave US troops in Iraq to 'watch' Iran..."

"This is an open meeting with representatives of leading Arab countries that are sitting down together with Israel in order to advance the common interest of war with Iran.'

No other country except maybe the US, has any interest in waging war on Iran. The Arabs will be especially furious that they are shown in such an open alliance with Israel or its hostility against Iran.

Scheming with Israel in the dark is fine. But being publicly associated with with a war-mongering Israel is difficult to sell to their peoples. Netanyahoo's statement may help him to win some votes in the upcoming elections in Israel. But the hoped for allieance with the Gulf Arabs is now as far off as it has ever been."

"This should be front page news. Iranian oil is exported through the Strait of Hormuz, the small passage linking the Persian Gulf to the open ocean. 20% of the world's petroleum passes through this strait. A wider regional war and huge economic fallout would be almost guaranteed."